Supporting States to Enhance College & Career Readiness
College and Career Readiness Data Infrastructure Matrix
The College and Career Readiness Data Infrastructure Matrix is designed to help states reflect on and strengthen their data infrastructure, with the ultimate goal of strengthening students’ college and career outcomes. Strengthening strategic data use can enhance decision-making at all levels, supporting states in setting priorities, allocating resources effectively, and implementing evidence-based strategies to improve students’ college and career outcomes.
The matrix provides a structured framework for examining how well state data systems are designed, governed, and used. The matrix is accompanied by a user guide, a visual summary tool, a case study, and a cross-state policy brief.
Matrix Tools
User Guide
This guide walks users through how to use the College and Career Readiness Data Infrastructure Matrix.
Visual Summary Tool
This Excel tool uses user's subdomain ratings to create a visual summary of a state’s college and career readiness data infrastructure.
From Analysis to Action: How States Can Use the College and Career Readiness Data Infrastructure Matrix to Improve Their Data Systems
This document presents three illustrative cases of how states might use the matrix and visual summary tool to support ongoing conversations about the strengths and gaps of their current college and career readiness data infrastructure and to identify actionable areas for improvement. An appendix, “Resources from the Field,” offers state-based examples that are aligned to each use case.
How do the matrix and visual summary tools work? Check out the walkthrough video below for a tutorial on how to complete your state analysis.
A Cross-State Policy Landscape Analysis in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma
Building College and Career Readiness
This brief examines how three neighboring states—Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma—are approaching the challenge of preparing students for college, career, and, broadly, life beyond high school. These three states share important contextual features: large rural student populations, significant workforce development needs, and economies increasingly reliant on technically skilled workers. At the same time, they have pursued meaningfully different policy strategies, offering a valuable comparative lens.
